Courier October Courier - Page 14

BUSINESS
2016
international
visitation,
spending
in the U.S.
revealed
BY RON ERDMANN,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,
NATIONAL TRAVEL AND TOURISM OFFICE
TRAVEL IS THE LARGEST services export
of the United States, accounting for 33
percent of all services exports and 11
percent of goods and services exports.
As an export, travel and tourism totals
exceeded receipts from the sales of
automobiles, U.S. agricultural products
and consumer goods.
International spending
2016 travel and tourism exports totaled
$244.7 billion, which was down 1 per-
cent from record spending in 2015. This
is the first decline in total travel and
tourism exports since 2009.
The travel export total comprised
$205.9 billion in travel exports (the
money spent by international visitors
within the United States) and $38.8 bil-
lion in passenger air transport exports
(the money paid by non-resident visi-
tors to the country for their flights). The
decline in total travel exports was
largely due to the 8 percent drop in pas-
senger air transport receipts, as travel
exports were at almost the same as
level as 2015.
Again in 2016, the top total travel
export market was the People’s Republic
of China (excluding Hong Kong), posting
a record $33 billion. The remaining top
five travel export markets were Canada
($20.9 billion), Mexico ($20.2 billion),
Japan ($16.1 billion) and the United
Kingdom ($16 billion).
With the overall decline in travel
exports in 2016, there were dramatic
differences in the rates of change by
market. Only four of the top 10 travel
markets posted increases in 2016. They
were China (up 9 percent), Mexico (3
percent), India (14 percent) and South
Korea (4 percent). Those same coun-
tries were the only ones in the top 10
to post record highs in 2016. The top
10 nations accounted for 64 percent of
all travel export markets for the coun-
try, the same as in the previous year.
Information for the top 10 travel export
markets can be seen in Table 1.
International arrivals
The United States welcomed 75.6 mil-
lion international visitors in 2016,
nearly 1.9 million (2 percent) fewer than
the previous year. As with international
spending, 2016’s arrivals to the United
12
October 2017
States also saw the first decline since
2009, after setting records for six con-
secutive years. Only three of the top 10
arrivals markets posted growth in 2016.
They were Mexico (up 2 percent), China
(15 percent) and South Korea (12 per-
cent). The top 10 international arrivals
markets are highlighted in Table 2.
In 2016 Canada and Mexico continued
as the top inbound markets. Overnight
volume from Canada was 19.3 million
travelers in 2016, a 7 percent decline
from 2015. At the same time, Mexico
continued to set records for arrivals
when the U.S. hosted 18.7 million visits,
an increase of 2 percent.
The United Kingdom (-7 percent),
Japan (-5 percent) and China (+15 per-
cent) rounded out the top five inbound
markets. In 2016, only seven of the
top 20 inbound visitor markets posted
increases in visits; of those, three gener-
ated double-digit increases and six set
records. The top 20 markets accounted
for 88 percent of all international visits
to the United States, which is the same
as the year before.
Annual overseas arrivals (a statis-
tic that excludes Canada and Mexico)
totaled 37.6 million in 2016. Overseas
travel also declined by 2 percent for
the year. Travel from these markets
accounted for nearly 50 percent of total
arrivals to the United States. Watch the
NTTO website—travel.trade.gov—for the
Top 50 Arrivals Report, which will be
released after this issue goes to press.
City arrivals and visitation
In 2016 the different rates for arrivals at
the top ports of entry for inbound travel
had a significant impact on the destina-
tions within the United States. The top
five overseas ports of entry were New
York’s JFK Airport (6.4 million), Miami
(4.9 million), Los Angeles (4.1 million),
Honolulu (2.3 million) and San Francis co
(2.2 million).
Only seven of the top 15 reported
single-digit growth, whereas two of the
top 15 ports of entry posted double-digit
declines. Each destination within the
U.S. is dependent upon a mix of ports
that generate travelers to their state,
territory or city. It’s the shifts in this
mix from year-to-year that determine
the volume and rate of change in the